BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SBX2 6|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SBX2 6
Author: Monning (D)
Amended: 8/25/15
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES COMMITTEE:
9-2, 8/19/15
AYES: Hernandez, Beall, Hall, Leno, McGuire, Mitchell,
Monning, Pan, Wolk
NOES: Moorlach, Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Morrell, Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT: Smoking in the workplace
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill prohibits smoking in owner-operated
businesses and removes specified exemptions in existing law that
allow tobacco smoking in certain workplaces.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes "smoke-free laws," which prohibit the smoking of
tobacco products in various places, including, but not limited
to, school campuses, public buildings, places of employment,
apartment buildings, day care facilities, retail food
facilities, health facilities, and vehicles when minors are
present, and makes a violation of some of the prohibitions
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punishable by an infraction.
2)Prohibits employers from knowingly or intentionally permitting
the smoking of tobacco products in an enclosed space at a
place of employment.
3)Defines "enclosed space" as including lobbies, lounges,
waiting areas, elevators, stairwells, and restrooms that are a
structural part of the building and not specifically exempt.
4)Exempts the following from the workplace smoking prohibition:
a) Sixty-five percent of guestrooms in a hotel, motel, or
similar lodging establishment.
b) Hotel or motel lobbies that meet certain size
requirements;
c) Meeting and banquet rooms in hotels or motels, except as
specified;
d) Retail or wholesale tobacco shops and private smokers'
lounges, as defined;
e) Warehouse facilities, as defined;
f) Gaming clubs, bars and taverns;
g) Private residences, except for those licensed as family
day care homes;
h) Patient smoking areas in long-term health care
facilities;
i) Break rooms designated for smoking by an employer; and
j) Employers with five or fewer employees.
5)Imposes an infraction, punishable by a fine not to exceed $100
for a first violation, $200 for a second violation within one
year, and $500 for a third and each subsequent violation
within one year, for any violation of the indoor smoking
prohibition.
6)Requires local law enforcement agencies to enforce these
provisions, including local health departments, unless an
employer has been found guilty of three or more violations
which will require an investigation by the Division of
Occupational Safety and Health.
7)Sets forth a uniform statewide standard for regulating the
smoking of tobacco products in enclosed places of employment
and shall supersede and render unnecessary the local enactment
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or enforcement of local ordinances regulating the smoking of
tobacco products in enclosed places of employment.
8)Authorizes employers to prohibit smoking in enclosed places of
employment for any reason.
This bill:
1)Expands on the workplace smoking prohibition by including
owner-operated businesses defined as a business having no
employees, independent contractors, or volunteers, in which
the owner-operator of the business is the only worker.
2)Expands on the definition of "enclosed space" where smoking is
prohibited to include covered parking lots.
3)Modifies the exemption that currently allows smoking in 65% of
the guestroom accommodations in a hotel, motel, or similar
transient lodging establishment by reducing that amount to
20%.
4)Eliminates several exemptions in law which currently allows
the smoking of tobacco products in certain work environments,
thereby prohibiting the smoking of tobacco products indoors at
the following locations:
a) Hotel or motel lobbies;
b) Meeting and banquet rooms in a hotel or motel;
c) Warehouse facilities;
d) Gaming clubs;
e) Bars and taverns;
f) Employee break rooms; and,
g) Businesses of employers with a total of five or fewer
employees.
5)Deletes obsolete references to regulations that would have
permitted smoking at gaming clubs, bars and taverns had these
been adopted before January 1, 1998 by the Occupational Safety
and Health Standards Board if a safe level of exposure to
secondhand smoke were found that prevents anything other than
insignificant harmful effects to exposed employees. No such
regulations were ever adopted, this language is therefore
obsolete.
SBX2 6
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Comments
1)Author's statement. According to the author, the evidence is
clear and undeniable that exposure to secondhand smoke in a
workplace puts employees at risk of severe health effects.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
reports that secondhand smoke can cause severe health
conditions in adults, such as coronary heart disease, stroke,
lung cancer, and serious respiratory diseases. California was
one of the first states to enact a landmark
employee-protection law that addressed exposure to the harmful
effects of secondhand smoke by prohibiting the smoking of
tobacco products in a place of employment. While most
Californians enjoy the benefits of this important workplace
protection, many employees are still subjected to secondhand
smoke exposure through the numerous exemptions written into
the original 1994 law. The patrons who visit, and the
employees who work in these unsafe work environments, are
receiving unequal protection under the law, so as long as
these egregious exemptions remain.
This bill will eliminate the loopholes in California's
smoke-free workplace law, by prohibiting smoking in
owner-operated businesses, and eliminating the exemptions that
allow the smoking of tobacco products in hotel lobbies,
tobacco shops, warehouse facilities, and employee break rooms,
and banquet and meeting rooms in hotels.
2)Health impacts of secondhand smoke. According to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Surgeon
General, secondhand smoke exposure can cause harmful health
effects that include stroke, heart disease, heart attacks,
lung cancer, asthma and chronic respiratory problems, among
others. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies
secondhand smoke as a Class "A" human carcinogen (cancer
causing agent), the same class as asbestos. The California
Air Resources Board has declared secondhand smoke to be a
toxic air contaminant, in the same category as diesel exhaust.
According to the Department of Public Health, (DPH) nonsmokers
who are frequently exposed to high levels of secondhand smoke
increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25-30%, and
lung cancer by 20-30%. The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded
that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand
smoke, ventilation cannot eliminate exposure of nonsmokers to
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secondhand smoke, and establishing smoke-free environments is
the only proven way to prevent exposure. (The Health
Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A
Report of the Surgeon General, 2006). According to a 2014
report by the U.S. Surgeon General, if smoking persists at the
current rate among young adults, 5.6 million of today's
Americans younger than 18 years of age are projected to die
prematurely from a smoking-related illness. (The Health
Consequences of Smoking - 50 Years of Progress, 2014). The
2014 report also finds that the value of lost productivity due
to premature deaths caused by exposure to secondhand smoke is
estimated to be $5.6 billion per year ($150 billion
productivity loss for smoking deaths).
3)History of smoking in the workplace in California. For years
California had been the leader in the effort to fight the
smoking epidemic and was often referred to as "America's
Non-Smoking Section," a reputation that came about when
California became the first state in the country to ban
smoking in nearly every workplace; effectively banning smoking
in indoor public spaces. California's workplace smoking
prohibition was enacted by AB 13 (Friedman, Chapter 310,
Statutes of 1994), Restaurants were included in the ban, and
bars, taverns, and gaming clubs were phased in by 1998. The
law covers all "enclosed" places of employment; therefore,
patio or outdoor dining facilities may allow smoking.
While California's law is restrictive, a number of exemptions
are allowed which have prevented our state from being
considered a 100% smoke-free state by the CDC, 25 other states
are currently considered 100% indoor workplace smoke-free.
Many local jurisdictions have closed the loop on these
exemptions through the enactment of local ordinances. In
addition, gaming facilities not under the jurisdiction of the
state (tribal casinos) are not required to comply, although
some have done so voluntarily for the health of their
employees and patrons.
Unfortunately, these efforts have not been enough to protect
people from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke as
evidenced by the high number of casualties. DPH estimates
that the loopholes in California's smoke free workplace law
currently allow one in seven employees to work in an
employment setting where they could be exposed to secondhand
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smoke. The patrons who visit, and the employees who work in
these unsafe environments, are receiving unequal protection
under the law as long as these exemptions are in place.
Related Legislation
SBX2 5 (Leno)/ABX2 6 (Cooper) recast and broaden the definition
of "tobacco product" in existing law to include electronic
cigarettes as specified; extend current restrictions and
prohibitions against the use of tobacco products to electronic
cigarettes; extend current licensing requirements for
manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, and
retailers of tobacco products to electronic cigarettes; and,
require electronic cigarette cartridges to be child-resistant.
SBX2 5 is pending on the Senate Floor and ABX2 6 will be heard
on August 25, 2015 in the Assembly Public Health and
Developmental Services Committee.
ABX2 7 (Stone) prohibits smoking in owner-operated businesses
and removes specified exemptions in existing law that allow
tobacco smoking in certain workplaces. ABX2 7 will be heard on
August 25, 2015 in the Assembly Public Health and Developmental
Services Committee.
SBX2 7 (Hernandez)/ABX2 8 (Wood) increase the minimum legal age
to purchase or consume tobacco from 18 to 21. SBX2 7 is pending
on the Senate Floor and ABX2 8 will be heard on August 25, 2015
in the Assembly Public Health and Developmental Services
Committee.
SBX2 8 (Liu)/ABX2 9 (Thurmond and Nazarian) extend current
tobacco use prevention funding eligibility and requirements to
charter schools; broaden the definition of products containing
tobacco and nicotine, as specified, and prohibit their use in
specified areas of schools and school districts, regardless of
funding; and require specified signs to be prominently displayed
at all entrances to school property. SBX2 8 is pending on the
Senate Floor and ABX2 9 will be heard on August 25, 2015 in the
Assembly Public Health and Developmental Services Committee.
SBX2 9 (McGuire)/ABX2 10 (Bloom) allow counties to impose a tax
on the privilege of distributing cigarettes and tobacco
products. SBX2 9 is pending on the Senate Floor and ABX2 10 will
be heard on August 25, 2015 in the Assembly Public Health and
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Developmental Services Committee.
SBX2-10 (Beall)/ABX2-11 (Nazarian) revise the Cigarette and
Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 to change the retailer
license fee from a $100 one-time fee to a $265 annual fee, and
increase the distributor and wholesaler license fee from $1,000
to $1,200. SBX2 10 is pending on the Senate Floor and ABX2 11
will be heard on August 25, 2015 in the Assembly Public Health
and Developmental Services Committee.
Prior Legislation
SB 575 (DeSaulnier, 2011) and AB 1467 (DeSaulnier, 2007) were
almost identical to this bill and would have eliminated most of
the exemptions in code which permit smoking in certain work
environments. SB 575 died in the Assembly Governmental
Organization Committee, and AB 1467 was vetoed by the Governor.
AB 217 (Carter, 2011) would have restricted smoking in long-term
health care facilities by only allowing smoking in a designated
patient smoking area that is outdoors, as specified. AB 217 was
vetoed by the Governor.
AB 2067 (Oropeza, Chapter 736, Statutes of 2006) prohibits
smoking in covered parking lots and adds to the definition of
"enclosed spaces" lobbies, lounges, waiting areas, elevators,
stairwells and restrooms that are a structural part of the
building, thereby prohibiting smoking in those areas.
AB 846 (Vargas, Chapter 342, Statutes of 2003) prohibits smoking
inside a public building and within 20 feet of a main exit,
entrance, or operable window of a public building.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified8/25/15)
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Cancer Society - Cancer Action Network
American College of Emergency Physicians
American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
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American Lung Association in California
Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights
Association of Northern California Oncologists
California Academy of Family Physicians
California Black Health Network
California Chronic Care Coalition
California Dental Association
California Labor Federation
California Medical Association
California Optometric Association
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
California Primary Care Association
California Society of Addiction Medicine
Community Action Fund of Planned Parenthood Orange and San
Bernadino Counties
County Health Executives Association of California
First 5 Association of California
Health Access
Health Officers Association of California
March of Dimes, California Chapter
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.
Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project Los Angeles
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
Planned Parenthood Northern California Action Fund
Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest
Service Employees International Union
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/25/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Proponents argue that tobacco use is
the single most preventable cause of death and disease, nearly
40,000 Californians lost their lives to tobacco related
illnesses last year. There is overwhelming scientific evidence
that secondhand tobacco smoke is a direct cause of heart
disease, the number one killer of both men and women in
California. According to the American Lung Association in
California, smoking costs the state of California $23 billion a
year in both health costs and lost productivity with $3.5
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billion directly linked to Medi-Cal. Proponents argue that every
Californian deserves to work in a healthy environment and should
not have to make a choice between a good job and good health.
Given the human cost and the economic burden of smoking,
proponents believe it is time for California to catch up to the
rest of the nation and become a 100% smoke-free state.
Prepared by: Alma Perez / PUBLIC HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL
SERVICES /
8/25/15 16:10:20
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